• Brand Design

The Art of Simplicity: How to Design a Memorable Logo

  • Felix Rose-Collins
  • 6 min read
The Art of Simplicity: How to Design a Memorable Logo

Intro

Ever heard of Lise Devits’s study ‘Is Simplicity Within a Logo the Key to Increased Consumption?’ Here’s an abstract.

Even if you’re not a designer, read the abstract, it’ll help you talk to a branding agency as an informed person.

Is Simplicity Withing a Logo the Key to Increased Consumption (Source)

The study reveals that a simple logo:

  • Increases positive emotions, the truth effect, and familiarity.
  • Increases the consumer’s willingness to purchase a product.
  • Increases the overall rating of the product.

Don’t confuse simplicity with generality. In a world where attention spans are short, it's important to create a logo that is easily recognizable and simple enough to be remembered. Your logo can be simple and yet stand out.

In this article, we will tell you how to design a memorable logo. They keywords to remember are:

  • A simple design
  • Beauty of a simple color palette
  • Versatility
  • Typography
  • Timelessness

1. Simplify your Logo Design

Here’s how creative logo design services (that actually know their work) do it.

Simplify your Logo Design (Source)

  • Use simple shapes and forms: Use basic geometric shapes such as circles, squares, or triangles to create your logo. You can also combine these shapes to create more complex designs. But be careful not to overdo it. For example, the Nike logo is a simple swoosh, while the Apple logo is an apple silhouette.
  • Limit the number of colors: Creative logo design services stick to just one or two colors. For example, the FedEx logo only uses two colors: purple and orange.

WWF (Source)

  • Use negative space: Negative space is the area around and between the subject of an image. Use it to create interesting and memorable logos. For example, the WWF logo uses negative space to create an image of a panda.

If you currently have a complex design in mind, creative logo design services can help you simplify it by following the principles of logo design while still communicating the brand.

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To increase the relevance of your design, you should also consider the keywords associated with your brand. With Ranktracker's Keyword Finder, you can easily find the right keywords that will bring new visitors to your site.

By using words with low-difficulty ratings and high search volumes, you can get more traffic in less time. Try it out and see how it can help boost your SEO efforts.

2. Use a Simple Color Palette

Each color conveys a different meaning. Based on the color you can influence your customer’s behavior. You can create a logo using an AI logo generator with any color you want and design.

To convince your customer to buy your product/service, creative logo design services can select one or two key colors.

Use a Simple Color Palette (Source)

This table will tell you how professional logo design services use different colors to evoke different emotions. There are similar strategies that you can apply called “Image Psychology” to increase ad conversions.

Color When to Use Examples
Red Energetic, Passion, Excitement Coca-Cola, Netflix, YouTube
Orange Friendly, Playful, Confidence Nickelodeon, Fanta, Harley-Davidson
Yellow Cheerful, Optimism, Clarity McDonald's, Best Buy, National Geographic
Green Nature, Growth, Health Starbucks, Whole Foods, BP
Blue Trust, Dependability, Stability IBM, HP, Facebook
Purple Luxury, Creativity, Imagination Cadbury, Yahoo!, Hallmark
Black Power, Elegance, Sophistication Chanel, Nike, Adidas
White Purity, Cleanliness, Simplicity Google, Coca-Cola (in some cases)

These brands have kept their logos simple and easy to recognize by using a limited color scheme and using color theory to their advantage. Which is why the logos are easily recognizable and memorable.

3. Make it Versatile

A versatile logo that works across different media. This can save you money on design and printing costs. For example, Airbnb's logo's simple yet versatile design works equally well on digital and print media, on websites, brochures, or company profile presentations, making it a cost-effective choice for a growing business. This also helps you communicate a consistent message about the brand.

Here’s how custom logo design services do it.

  • Consider the details: Too many details can create printing troubles and make the logo less scalable. Focus on the necessary elements that convey the business message. For example, Apple's iconic logo, which features a simple apple with a bite taken out of it, has become synonymous with the brand and is easily recognizable.
  • Pay attention to the space: The white space between elements in the logo should be consistent to avoid overlapping or confusion. For example, Nike's "swoosh" logo uses white space to create a sense of motion and speed, making it versatile and scalable for use on products of different sizes.
  • Use gradients selectively: While gradients can add depth and texture to a logo design, they may not always translate well in different media. For example, Coca-Cola's logo uses a gradient to create the illusion of depth and texture, but the design is simple enough that it can be easily reproduced in a variety of formats.

FedEx

  • Create a logo without colors: Logos should look impressive in both color and black and white versions to ensure versatility across different media. For example, FedEx's logo is a classic example of a design that works well in black and white, thanks to the simple use of negative space and a distinctive typeface.

Creative logo generator apps and logo design services stick to the timeless dos and don'ts of logo design. They make your logo work across channels and appeal to different crowds.

4. Let the Typography Speak

Your logo’s typography is just as important as selecting the graphic elements. The typography communicates crucial information such as the brand name and industry.

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Take the help of creative logo design services to ensure that your logo font resonates with the brand and performs well on repeated viewings.

There are different font categories that communicate different attributes and personalities. We will tell you how to pick the typography.

  • Consider the brand identity and attributes that you want to convey through the font.
  • Determine the font category that best aligns with the brand identity, such as serif, sans-serif, slab serif, script, or handwritten.

Here is a table that outlines when you can use which font. Learn the psychology behind fonts before you select one.

Font Name Style When to Use
Helvetica Sans-serif Versatile, modern and minimalist designs
Futura Geometric sans-serif Clean and modern designs, often used in technology or fashion industries
Baskerville Serif Traditional and formal designs, often used in legal or financial industries
Trajan Serif Classic and elegant designs, often used in high-end or luxury industries
Scriptina Script Flowing and decorative designs, often used in beauty or fashion industries
Lobster Script Bold and playful designs, often used in food or entertainment industries
Impact Bold sans-serif Attention-grabbing designs, often used for headlines or marketing campaigns
  • Narrow down the font selection by considering the font weight and style, such as thick vs. thin, condensed vs. wide, or subtle variations.
  • Review the entire font before making the final selection, paying attention to small elements that make it unique and distinctive.
  • Engage a creative logo design service to benefit from a deep knowledge of industry expectations and consumer perceptions to find a typeface that aligns with the industry and meets the consumers' expectations.
  • Strike a balance between a recognizable font and one that feels fresh and unique.
  • If using multiple fonts, limit to two or three and maintain visual hierarchy by ensuring the main brand name is in one font and supporting text is in another.

travelodeal (Source)

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For example, look at this logo done by professional logo design services. It uses a simple font. The ‘o’ has been converted into a pin drop showing that it's a travel brand.

This is how a logo design agency can bring together colors, typography and design all together to produce effective results.

5. Make it Timeless

With creative logo design services, you can create a timeless logo.

Here’s how custom logo design services do it.

  • Stylize: Keep your logo design simple and focus on one idea that represents the key personality of your brand.
  • Font: Choose classic, well-crafted fonts over decorative or trendy ones to avoid dating your logo in the future.
  • Package: Consider how your icon and text will sit together and ensure the logo is clearly readable and versatile.
  • Color: Stick to a small palette of one main color, a minor secondary color, and a neutral color. Avoid using 100% black and consider slightly muting bright colors for a more stylish effect.

Creating a logo is an art. Creative logo design services can understand your brand’s needs and give you an ideal logo.

A logo design agency can:

  • Simplify while preventing oversimplification.
  • Use colors that will capture your target market’s attention.
  • Make sure your logo looks great everywhere.
  • Choose a font that people remember.
  • Create a logo that people will recognize throughout the years.

Conclusion

A logo is more than just a visual representation of a brand. It is a powerful tool that can convey the essence, values, and personality of a business in a simple and memorable way. Designing a logo that stands out from the crowd requires creativity, skill, and an understanding of the principles of simplicity. The art of simplicity is not easy to master, but it is worth pursuing for anyone who wants to design a memorable logo that can stand the test of time. To create a logo you can use logo generator apps.

Felix Rose-Collins

Felix Rose-Collins

Ranktracker's CEO/CMO & Co-founder

Felix Rose-Collins is the Co-founder and CEO/CMO of Ranktracker. With over 15 years of SEO experience, he has single-handedly scaled the Ranktracker site to over 500,000 monthly visits, with 390,000 of these stemming from organic searches each month.

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